When Tavie and Tom Spivey joined the Texas Nationalist Movement, they “jumped in with both feet.”

The Texas Nationalist online newsletter says:

“Not long after becoming members, they volunteered to organize Upshur County and join the ranks of TNM leadership.”

They were new county coordinators until other issues forced them leave that post, but they are still strong supporters.

“As new County Coordinators, they have been working tirelessly with their Regional Director, Don Teer, and neighboring County Coordinator, Bill Ruescher, to establish a foundation in Northeast Texas, build the ranks of the TNM and spread the message of Texas independence.

“At a recent Regional Conference, Tavie, a retired Army recruiter, fired-up the crowd using their other passion— music.

“Tom and Tavie, in addition to their work with TNM, are part of a modern-day Doo-Wop group called Shake, Rattle & Roll.”

And it was that passion, married with their passion for TNM that they produced a video, with can be viewed at the Texas Nationalist web site, texnat.org. The video is called We Will Rock You (Line in the Sand Version).

The movement is headquartered in Nederland, where Daniel Miller, who Tom described as “the driving force force behind the movement,” lives. Miller grew up in Longview.

Tom said that he and Tavie became interested in TNM in 2012, when he and she talked about the way the United States is slipping downhill.

“We considered moving to another country—maybe Canada or Mexico,” he said. But because things might be okay there today, it might be different next year.

“What attracted me is that I see no way out for the U.S. to become once again the country I grew up in,” he said.

Tom, 67, said “the country is dissolving before our eyes. Our liberty and rights are slipping away.

“It doesn’t matter who’s in Washington. We’ve got $17.5 trillion in debt, and some day, somebody will have to pay that off,” he said.

“I see the only way out is to recreate the Republic of Texas,” he said. Texas was an independent nation until it joined the U.S. in 1845.

“I see no hope for the U.S.,” he said. “The country is gone. It’s like a snowball rolling down a hill. You can set up barriers, but eventually, it will crash over them.”

He said that “I’d love to leave my country, whether the U.S. or the Republic of Texas to my grandchildren and great-grandchildren with the liberty I had growing up. The government is everywhere—in religion, finances, transportation.

“More and more, the U.S. is like the Titanic, and it’s about to get hit by an iceberg,” Tom said. “There were three types of people on the Titanic:

“The first group was the Deniers—they said they were told the ship was unsinkable, so they said, ‘nothing to worry about. Let’s go back to the bar and have another drink.

“The second group is the Restorers—they grabbed buckets and started bailing water. But for every gallon they bailed out, another 500 poured in.

“The third was the Realistic—they said ‘this thing is done. Man the lifeboats.”

Spivey said he was a restorer for 25 years. Now he’s realistic.

Shake, Rattle and Roll has performed several times at the Gilmer Civic Center.